How Does a Chick Breathe Inside Its Shell? By: April Butts

Science Question Which color of dye will wear off the shell the most?

Background The reason I chose this topic is because when I was younger, I always wondered can they even breathe? So, I am going to find out how well they can breathe, or even if they can.

Variables Independent: Color of Dye Dependant: How much of the shell one the egg has worn off Controlled:Type of Eggs, Amount of Water, Time in Water

Hypothesis If I put an egg in red, blue, and yellow dye, then the blue dye will wear off the shell of the egg the most.

Materials Eggs Red, Blue, and Yellow dye Three plastic or glass cups Paper Towels

Procedure Fill plastic cups with 100ml of water. Put red, blue, and yellow dye in separate cups Put the 1 egg in each cup for 30 seconds Remove eggs and observe which dye made the egg’s shell wear off the most.

Data Blue Dye: The eggs shell barely wore away Yellow Dye: The eggs shell didn’t wear away at all. Red Dye: I could see through the shell

Conclusion How much of an egg’s shell will wear off in each dye? You will put dye in each cup of water and put an egg in each and observe how much the shell wore off. The red dye almost made the shell wear off all the way. The yellow dye didn’t make the shell wear off at all. The blue dye barely made the shell wear off at all. No, my data does not support my hypothesis because I said blue would work and actually the red dye worked. I learned that the chicks breathe through little microscopic holes in the shell. I should have used gloves because my hands got stained. I would have let the eggs stay in the dye longer.